USA > Ohio > Putnam County > A Portrait and biographical record of Allen and Putnam counties, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Ohio, pt 2 > Part 43
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children good school advantages, and has been ardent in his support of all educational enter- prises. He enjoys the full confidence of the people of his township and surrounding coun- try, and is highly respected by all who know him, and this respect is shared by all the members of his family.
ENJAMIN F. POPE, of the firm of Crawfis & Pope, furniture dealers and undertakers, Ottawa, is a native of Putnam county, Ohio, and a son of Henry and Priscilla (Wade) Pope, the father born in Virginia and the mother in Pennsyl- vania. Henry Pope was the son of Frederick Pope, an early pioneer of Fairfield county, Ohio, and a member of an old German family, which settled in the Buckeye state in a very early day. Henry Pope was reared in the county of Fairfield and there married, in 1832, Priscilla Wade, daughter of Joseph and Eliza- beth Wade, and the year following brought his family, consisting of himself, wife and one child, to Putnam county, locating in Blanchard township. On his arrival he erected a small log cabin, with the aid of a few white settlers and some Indians, and began the work of pre- paring a home in what was then an unbroken wilderness. For five years he leased land, and at the end of that time entered a tract of 160 acres, which he improved and upon which he lived until his death in 1878. He was a true type of the pioneer, a great hunter, and is re- membered as a man of domestic taste and was a member of the Protestant church for forty years. He was seventy-five years of age åt the time of his death, and his wife, who died in 1885, had reached the age of eighty-three. Henry and Priscilla Pope reared a family of four children, whose names in order of ! . th are as follows: Amanda M., Benjamin F., whose
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OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
name appears at the head of this biography; Catherine J., and Caroline A.
Benjamin F. Pope was born in Blanchard township May 22, 1838, and received his schooling in a small log school-house which stood not far from his father's farm. His early life was one of industry and he remained under the parental roof until his twenty-sixth year, assisting his father on the farm in the meantime. In April, 1861, he was one of twelve to enlist from Putnam county in con- pany D, Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and served out his full term.
On the 12th day of November, 1863, he entered into the marriage relation with Ange- line, daughter of Robert and Agnes (Siler) Stewart, and immediately thereafter engaged in farming on rented land. In 1871, Mr. Pope purchased his first real estate, consisting of forty acres, in Pleasant township, to which he made, the following year, an addition of forty acres, the greater part of which he cleared and prepared for cultivation. He disposed of this farm in 1885, but in the meantime had purchased a tract in Blanchard township -- the same upon which his father located in 1833. He moved to the latter place in 1875, and at different times purchased other pieces of land in Pleasant and other townships, and became the possessor of quite an amount of valuable J OSHUA POWELL, a retired and wealthy farmer of Blanchard township, Putnam county, Oho, was born Decem- ber 12, 1835, in Greensburg township, in the same county. His grandfather, Joshua Powell, was a native of Delaware, who came to Ohio, located first in Ross county, and thence moved to Hancock county, Ind., where his death took place at an advanced age, leav- ing a family of two sons and three daughters. real estate. In 1885, he purchased his moth- er's interest in the homestead in Blanchard township, consisting of 215 acres, adjoining his own, making his farm contain 307 acres of as valuable land as lies within the limits of Blanchard township. He became one of the leading farmers of the county, and earned a reputation as a very successful raiser of fine stock. He was largely instrumental in intro- ducing a superior breed of hogs into the county, Nutter Powell, the younger son of Joshua the elder, was born in Delaware in 1800, was brought to Ohio by his father, and was reared and was known far and wide as a successful breeder, He continued farming and stock- raising with most encouraging success until the I to farming in Ross county. In 1831 he entered,
fall of 1892, at which time he retired from active life and for a period of two years lived in quiet and content in Ottawa.
In February, 1895, Mr. Pope purchased an interest in the furniture business of H. L. Crawfis, and has since been engaged in that trade under the firm name of Crawfis & Pope. The firm deals in general furniture and carries on undertaking, and the establishment is one of the best equipped of the kind in the county. Mr. Pope has made an addition of eighteen lots to the town of Ottawa, and in 1895, with his partner, purchased a tract of thirty-one acres, near Miller City, which he proposes to plat and put upon the market. Financially the subject has been more than ordinarily suc- cessful, and his accumulations are the result of his own industry and business sagacity. He is a member of the F. & A. M., in which he has taken a number of degrees, and in politics has for years been an uncompromising sup- porter of the republican party. To Mr. and Mrs. Pope have been born five children, viz: Ella, wife of James E. Pierman; Winnie, wife of John C. Agner; Fenelon F., married Win- nie Koch; Agnes and Byron W., the last two still at home.
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in Greensburg township, Putnam county, 208 acres of land, and in 1832 moved his family upon his place, where he resided until 1850, when he sold and moved to Blanchard town- ship and purchased 204 acres in section No. 28, where he passed the remainder of his life, dy- ing in 1860. He was married, in Ross county, to Hettie, danghter of Isaac Owens, who sur- vived him about twelve years. Their children were named as follows: Perry, deceased; Clarinda, deceased wife of James Beard; Joshua, our subject; Mrs. Margaret Woods; Mahlon, of Wabash, Ind .; Emeline, married to John Gibson, of Illinois, and Amos, who was in the army and died at Nashville, Tenn. In his political views Mr. Powell was originally a whig, but on the formation of the republican party, became a member of that organization.
Joshua Powell, whose name opens this biography, was educated in one of the old- fashioned log school-houses of Greensburg township, and on reaching manhood purchased 118 acres of land in section No. 28, Blanchard township. This land he cleared and improved and continued diligently to cultivate for twenty-five years, making a splendid home. In 1890 he erected his present fine residence at Crawhis College, Blanchard township, and withdrawing from active business care, retired to enjoy the fruits of a well spent and indus- trious life, in peaceful quietude in his elegant village home. He is the owner of 381 acres of well improved land in the township, now under the supervision of his sons, who have re- lieved him from all personal care of the same.
The marriage of Mr. Powell took place, in 1858, to Miss Fannie Mccullough, daughter of David U. McCullough, deceased. One of the children born to this union, D. U., is a lead- ing lawyer of Ottawa, Ohio, and one of the brightest legal lights of the country. Mr. Powell was always a stanch supporter of the cause of the Union, and in 1864 enlisted in
company G, One Hundred and Fiftieth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served 100 days, tak- ing part in the battle of Silver Springs and in several severe skirmishes. Politically he is a republican of the stanchest kind; fraternally he is a member of Lindsay post, G. A. R,, of Gibboa, Ohio. In his social relations Mr. Powell stands with the best citizens of Blanch- ard township and the surrounding country, and is highly respected for his public spirit and manifest patriotism. He has few equals as an agriculturist, and his liberality in forwarding all good works and the educational interests of the town and county is proverbial.
ILLIAM PRICE, a deceased farmer of Perry township, Putnam county. Ohio, was a son of William and Susan (Decker) Price and was born in Virginia September 30, 1827. The parents were also natives of Virginia and came to Putnam county, Ohio, in 1830.
William Price our subject, was reared in Jackson township, Putnam county, and at the age of fourteen years began to make a living for himself, helping to construct the canal. December 5, 1846, he married Miss Ruth Jones, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, December 31, 1827, a daughter of Moses and Mary (Gannin) Jones, the former a native of New York and the latter of Pennsyl- vania, of Dutch parentage. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Price were born nine children, as follows: Nathan George and William Henry, deceased; Samuel, on the home place; An Irew, deceased; James Reuben, deceased; Lucretia, deceased, Martha Ellen, wife of Harvey Combs, of Perry township, James deceased and one who died in infancy. A sister of Mrs Price. Mrs. Mary Elbin, is a resident of Columbus Grove, Ohio. Moses Jones, father of Mrs. Price, was a democrat in politics and in relig-
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ion a Presbyterian, in which church he held several offices, his wife being a member of the same denomination.
After marriage, William Price settled on the home farm now occupied by his widow, which farm he cleared from the woods and for several years the family dwelt in a log cabin, but in 1863 erected the modern dwelling that now adorns the place and which was his happy home until his death from typhoid fever, February 11, 1880. Mr. Price was a democrat in his poli- tics and held the office of school director; in religion he was liberal in his views, but was a regular attendant at the United Brethren church, although he was not a member of the congregation. He had been a hard-working man, was an excellent farmer and a shrewd and accomplished business man, and by his unaided efforts and industry became the owner of 450 acres of good land. He was a kind and loving husband and an indulgent father, a true friend and obliging neighbor, and his death was sincerely mourned by the entire community in which he had passed so many years of his active life.
Mrs. Rath Price, whose grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, was a faith- ful and affectionate helpmate to her husband and aided him acquiring a competency, and as a mother few have excelled her in the exercise of her maternal duties. Beside her own chil- dren, she has reared one grandchild, Eva. now the wife of Stemen Stevick, of Perry township, on whom she has bestowed as much care and attention as she has upon her own children. For twenty years Mrs. Price was a member of the United Brethren church, but for the passed eighteen years has been a con- sistent member of the Christian church. She is a trudy pions lady, charitable to all the poor about her, and honored and respected throughout the township by rich and poor alike. Beside the general respect enjoyed by
Mrs. Price, a large circle of private and per- sonal friends and acquaintances never tire in manifesting for her an ardent friendship.
.. ENJAMIN A. PRICE, D. D. S., is a native of Ohio, born in Belmont county, February 17, 1860. He is a son of George and Sidney A. (Wilson) Price, the father deceased, and the mother still living in the above county. Dr. Price is descended paternally from English ancestors, and from the mother he inherits the charac- teristics of the English, Welsh and Irish races. The Price family has been in America for sev- eral generations, the doctor's grandfather, a native of Baltimore, having served with dis- tinction in the last war with Great Britan. He was a physician, a school-teacher and a farmer, a prominent man in his locality and an active member of the society of Friends. He and wife had a family of six children, all of whom are deceased.
The doctor's father, George Price, was a farmer and stock raiser, and died at the age of thirty-nine years, leaving five children -- John, deceased; Sullivan, Benjamin A., George and Amos. Dr. Price spent his boyhood on the home farm looking after the interests of his mother and younger members of the family, and attended, as opportunities would admit, such schools as the country afforded. At the age of twenty-two years, he went to Arkansas, but failing to meet with success in that state, returned after two years of hardship, and worked on the home farm in the summer, and attended school during the winter season for a couple of years. He proved a close student, and in the spring of 1886 taught his first term of school, and the same year went to Sedalia, Mo., where he engaged in the cigar business. After a short time spent in that city, Mr. Price went lowa, in which state he was engaged in
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teaching from the fall of 1887 until 1890. In the meantime, he pursued his studies, and in the fall of the latter year was graduated from the normal school of Greenfield, Iowa, after which he went to Afton, to begin the study of dentistry, under the instruction of Dr. Phillips. He further prepared himself for efficiency in his profession by taking a thorough course in the Iowa State university of Iowa City, gradu- ating from that institution March 10, 1892. After finishing his course, the doctor practiced at different places in Iowa and Kansas, and while looking for a favorable location selected the town of Malvern in the former state. There he met Miss Mary L. Baird, daughter of Chauncy and Martha (Silversides) Baird, to whom he was united in mariage May 22, 1895. Soon after his marriage, Dr. Price concluded to seek a field further east; accordingly he came direct to Ottawa, Ohio, May 23, 1895, and has already succeeded in building up a lucrative practice in this city. The doctor is a man of energy, endowed with a goodly share of what is known as pluck, and his friends predict for him success in his chosen calling. He is a member of the K. of P. and the I. O. O. F. fraternities, belongs to the K. O. T. M., and is a member of the Iowa State Dental as- sociation.
The parents of Mrs. Price were natives of New York; the father died May 28, 1893. He was for many years a minister of the Baptist church and did much missionary work in Iowa, where he located in an early day. He became the father of ten children, the following of whom are still living, O. W. Baird, physician of Mar- quette, Kans; Channing C., business man of lowa; Mary L., wife of the subject; Henry J., graduate of the Iowa State university and at- torney at law; John L., farmer and stock raiser of Mills county, lowa, and Ella L., wife of 1I. R. Wills, agent and operator at U'nion, Nebr. Mrs. Price was born in Dallas county, Iowa,
April 17, 1858, is a graduate of the Western Normal school, taught school for some years and is an expert stenographer and type-writer.
EV. JOHN PROWANT, a pioneer and one of the leading farmers of Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio, and a faithful and prominent minister of the Dunkard church, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., December 2, 1821. His parents were Christian and Catherine (Gabel) Prowant -the father having been born in the same county in Pennsylvania in 1795, a son of Jacob Prowant, born of Swiss-French ances- try. Before the war of 1812, Jacob was one of the most extensive land owners and wealthi- est farmers in Pennsylvania, owning and culti- vating the famous Wheatland farm. Suffering some business reverses, his fine and large estate was sold by a decree of the court and it passed into the hands of James Buchanan, who was afterwards president of the United States. The new proprietor kindly permitted the for- mer owner to spend his declining years on the old farm.
Christian Prowant, the father of the sub- ject of our sketch, was the eldest son of the above, received his education in the common schools of his native state, passed his boyhood on a farm, and remained a farmer all his life. In 1820 he married Catherine Gabel, who was born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1800; her parents were of stanch German parentage, and were members of that large body of Germans who have made that part of the state one of the richest farming sections in this country. She was a consistent member of the German Baptist church. After their marriage the hus- band was for six years the landlord of an in situated on the banks of the Susquehannah river. He then moved to Cumberland county, Pa., where for three years he worked as a day-
1.7
REV. JOHN PROWANT
MRS. JOHN PROWANT.
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OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
laborer. In 1827, he crossed the mountains with his family and purchased forty acres of unimproved land in Wayne county, Ohio. On this he erected a log cabin and established his young family, and having well provided for them he decided to visit the scenes of his boy- hood days. In order to do this he was obliged to walk the entire distance of 360 miles and carry on his back provisions for the entire journey. After making a short visit, he then set out and walked back to his home and fam- ily in Wayne county, Ohio, where he continned to clear and improve his farm, and for nine years he was a successful farmer among the hills of that county. In 1836 he made a trip to Putnam county, in a wagon, but was dis- couragel at the prospect of establishing a home in such a wilderness, where the mammoth trees, which had stood for ages, seemed to defy man to remove them. He however coun- seled with the different members of the family as to the advisability of remaining, or return - ing to the home in Wayne county. His eldest son John, of this mention, advised remaining in the new country; this turned the scales, and a tract of land containing eighty acres was entered from the government. Then began the labor of clearing a farm from the forest and making a home. He and his family set resolutely to work to accomplish this and soon a fine farm was theirs and Christian Prowant recognized as a prosperous farmer. His family consisted of ten children: John, the subject of this biographical sketch; William, who was a minister in Illinois and is now dead; Henry, a prosperous farmer of Paulding county; Daniel, a farmer of Perry township; Ephraim, also a farmer in the same township; Christian, de- ceased; Elizabeth, the wife of Philip Shirley. of Dupont. Barbara, who was married to fur- man Harter, both of whom are now dead; Annie, who died in childhood, and Mary, the wife of Jesse Rogers, now living in Kansas,
The father was an influential man in the com- munity, a man of strong convictions, npright and honorable in all his dealings, was very successful in all his undertakings, and had the confidence and esteem of all. In his early life he was identified with the democratic party, but later became a whig, and ultimately, when the republican party was formed, he became a member of that party, and was honored with several of the local offices of the township. He was an active member of the German Bap- tist church, to the support of which he con- tributed very liberally. His death occurred in 1867, the wife dying on her seventy-fifth birth- day, in 1875.
John Prowant, eldest son of Christian and Catherine Prowant, laid the foundation of his education in the primitive log school-honse situated in the woods some distance from his home. Afterward he taught one term in the district school of Putnam county. His boy- hood days were passed on his father's farm, which he had helped his father clear, and so much does he like farming that he has never given it up, although he has had many oppor- tunities to do so. On September 3, 1843, he married Snsan Burkhart, who was born in Holmes county December 29, 1825, and had come with her parents to Putnam county in 1839. She is the daughter of John and Mary M. (Harger) Burkhart, natives of Virginia, but early pioneers of Holmes county, Ohio. Her grandfather, George Burkhart, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and afterward settled in Kentucky, where for sixteen years he kept an inn in a sycamore tree. In this tree, which was sixteen feet in diameter, he made three floors, so his tree-inn was three stories in height. He reached the great age of 118 years.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Prowant lived for three years on the old homestead, but on March 6, 1847, they moved to the farm on which they now live. This he has cleared and
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.
improved and brought to a high state of culti- vation, and he is known as one of the best farmers in Perry township. He is very suc- cessful in all things that he undertakes. In politics he is a republican, and has held nu- merous offices, among them being township trustee and township treasurer. He has been a member of the Dunkard church since he was twenty-two years old, and has been a minister in it for forty-five years. His wife is also a member of the same church; she is skillful in weaving cloth and spinning wool, as she still follows those womanly pursuits that were com- mon in the days of our parents; she is a very industrious woman, and can show much as the result of the skill of her hands. Their mar- riage has been blessed with nine children, viz: Mary M., deceased; John W., living in Ne- braska; Catherine, deceased; Sarah E., the wife of George Titler, a farmer of Perry town- ship; Daniel R., who lives on a part of the old homestead; Nathaniel; Salome, married to Samuel Schafer, a farmer of this township; Mary A., the wife of Jefferson Schafer, of Paulding county, and Ruth, the wife of Isaac Carnahan, the grain buyer of Dupont. With their grandchildren, Mr. and Mrs. Prowant have sixty-two descendants, and their great- grandchildren number seven, and when, in 1893, they celebrated their golden wedding, 318 people attended. They are both much respected and honored, and now in their old age, with a large and good family about them, they can enjoy to the fullest extent the fruits of their long and well-spent life.
EV. DANIEL PROWANT, a promi- nent and progressive farmer, and Dunkard minister of Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio, and a brother of Rev. John Prowant, whose sketch may be found on another page, was born in Wayne
county, Ohio, June 29, 1831, and when but four years old his parents brought him with them to Putnam county, where they had pur- chased a farm. Here he received his educa- tion in the common schools, and when twenty- one years old he began preaching at Leipsic, where he taught one term, and eight terms in Perry and Greensburg townships; during the summer months he worked on his father's farm. On April 19, 1857, he married Sarah J., who was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, May 1, 1837, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Kirkendall) Rogers. Both her parents were of Columbiana county, the father having beer born in 1813 and the mother in 1807, and were blessed with five children, viz: Daniel, of Iowa; Jesse, of Kansas; Sarah; Elizabeth, the wife of John Close, and Dornington. The grandfather Kirkendall was a Revolutionary soldier, serving under Washington, and when he died, in 1856, he had reached the advanced age of five score and one years.
Two years after marriage Mr. Prowant pur- chased the farin where he now lives and where his family of ten children have been born: Christian and James, farmers in Perry town- ship; William J., living at home; Nelson D., farming in Wood county; Lucinda E .. the wife of Ezekiel Parsons, of Van Wert county; Cora E., the wife of Francis Rowe, of Perry town- ship; Mary E. ; Emma R. Anninta; Estella M. and Elmer R .- the latter two of whom are twins. Since locating upon this farm, Mr. Prowant has added more acres to it and greatly improved it in many ways, and has built a large and commodious barn for his abundant harvests. He has a comfortable home, and keeps his farm in an excellent state of cultiva- tion. Since 1874 he has been a minister in the Dunkard church, and has ever been a zealous worker therein. In politics he is a republican, and has held the office of township clerk for three years. On his farm he raises fine stock
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OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
and also deals in the same, shipping to eastern markets. He has the esteem and confidence of all, is liberal minded and charitable, and ever to the front in advancing the welfare of the community.
e PHRAIM PROWANT is one of the most prominent and successful farm- ers of Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio, is the youngest son of Christian and Catherine (Gabel) Prowant, and was born October 2, 1842, on a farm in the section join- ing the one where he now lives. He laid the foundation of his education in an old-fashioned log school-house not far from his home. Op- portunities for acquiring knowledge were few, but he made the most of his advantages, and every since has sought diligently after knowl- edge. His boyhood days were passed on his father's farm, and when the thne came for choosing an occupation he decided to cast his lot with that ever-to-be respected and sub- stantial class of our citizens, the farmer.
On February 15, 1863, he married Mary, the daughter of Joseph D. and Elizabeth (Shenk) Myers; she was born in Greensburg township, Putnam county, Ohio, June 8, 1841. Her father was a native of Maryland, and was born in 1802. He was reared on a farm and married Elizabeth, the daughter of Michael and Barbara (Wideman) Shenk, and was born in Canada, near Toronto, June 20, 1816. Mr. and Mrs. Shenk were among the first to settle hn Putnam county, coming here about 1836, traveling the entire distance of 500 miles in a small wagon drawn by one horse, and much of the way they had to make their own road. cutting down timber and underbrush so their small wagon could be drawn through to their destination, then an unbroken wilderness, where the Indians still loved to hunt, where
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